Set in a closed institution fosychiatric patients in a remote location somewhere in Scotland, the book starts as a pregnant nurse is murdered as the result of a caesarian section in the treatment room of the closed unit. There are only a maximum of 6 patients on this unit and a small group of doctors, nurses and ordilies. Connie and her partner go under cover to inflitrate this unit to try and discover what happened to the dead nurse and her baby.
Quite slow going in the first part of the book, though this was necessary to some degree to set the scene. Towards the middle of the book, the pace picks up . By this time I also had more information about who was who and started to get ideas about the perpetrators (some turned out to be right) . There are a couple of twists in the plot which becomes a real page turner.
Not an easy read, some of the described crimes are fairly horrific, as are some of the treatments . We get to know a lot about the staff too, all with their own reasons for being in this god forsaken place. There are triggers for child abuse, institutional bullying and abuse and mental health issues. At times perhaps a little too Americanised, Connie is American, but systems in the UK are different (we talk about university rather than college, as one example)
Thanks to Net Galley for a great read in exchange for an honest review

One of my favourite authors has another stand alone that kept me reading late into the night. A horrific murder with consequences and Dr Connie Woolvine and her partner are called to save the baby and they have five days. The setting for this murder is the Institution, the home for the criminally insane. Each guest is a suspect. Atmospheric, heart stopping, gut wrenching and so much more. I devoured this book in one sitting and finally turned the last page in the wee hours. Yes this book is that good.
So strap yourself in because you are in for a wild ride and another MUST READ from this author, she never disappoints and for me this is her best stand alone. Highly recommended, read it and see if you agree. Loved, loved it!!!!!!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This book was just 🤌 so good. I loved Connie, she's odd, blatant and seriously honest. She was such a breath of fresh air. I loved how this book was laid out with how the plot unfolded, loved the serial killers interviews (found it really interesting in Connie's methods). Really enjoyed this one, I might have to go find some more of Helen Fields books now 😁

I am kind of claustrophobic and this gave me claustrophobic vibesssss! Helen Fields did a great job of putting the scary chill vibes into words and it helped me get out of my reading slump. The characters in this book was well written to the point that the characters intertwined into isolated atmosphere and I loved it! 4 stars!!!

ooooh! I loved this and stayed up way past bedtime reading it - really enjoyed the characters and their various ticks within the institution, plus some suspect players who I never quite trusted. Quite dark in places especially nearer the end, where you're trying to work out just who are the 'crazy' characters. Really enjoyed this and would like to read more by Helen.

A scary and claustrophobic thriller! The characters are trapped, feeling powerless, whilst finding inner strength to solve the crime.
Tara has been killed, and her baby has been removed from her. She had been living in an institution for the criminally insane. Connie and colleague Baarda go undercover to find out what is happening in the institution.
This gave me the chills! The author writes so believably of such chilling events. Perfect for all thriller fans. A must-read scary book!

Wowsers. This book well and truly hit the spot. Murdered nurse, missing child and a ward full of some of the worst psychopaths Connie Woolwine has ever met and a staff whose approach to their 'care' ranges from kindness to virtual torture, and you it's a pretty safe bet that we're in for quite a tense and chilling journey. Helen Fields did not disappoint. From Connie's emotional and yet clinical introduction to the victim, the slow and deliberate introduction to the investigation, the author had me hooked, intrigued, repulsed, and well and truly engaged in watching Connie in what really was a race against time to save a child who was merely a pawn in a truly heinous game. But when faced with a ward full of men whose capacity for violence is unquestionable, finding a killer is a big ask. Like finding one, very specific needle, in a huge pile of ... well, needles!

I really like Connie Woolwine as a character. She has a somewhat unconventional - in the other characters' words, odd - approach to psychology, but it is one which seems to work. She is logical, often detached, but focused on justice, and getting into the mind of the victim, displaying empathy and understanding, is as important as chasing down the perpetrator. She has her job cut out for her the guilty party this time around though as she has not one, but five, fractured and twisted minds to get to grips with, as well as those of her 'colleagues' as she goes undercover in the secure 'Heaven Ward' of the eponymous institution. And with her own complicated past, something that is recounted throughout the book for those not aware of her backstory, this is a case which really gets under her skin. Her vulnerability is perhaps a surprise given her usually calm and daring personality, but beautifully woven into the story, setting us up for what will be a shocking and pulse pounding showdown.

I love how Helen Fields has chosen to introduce the potential suspects in this story - the five men convicted of crimes so heinous they are never expected to see the outside world again. Watching her as she tried to work out who had the capacity for this particular level of violence by revisiting the reasons for their incarceration, allows us to get an understanding of their crimes without the imagery becoming too gratuitous. There is no denying how dark their crimes are, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't many skin crawling and jaw dropping moments, but then if it was an accidental shooting or a domestic homicide, they would be in a normal prison and not locked away in an isolated and foreboding mental hospital.

As for the staff, they seem to be a walking, breathing (at least for now) example of the old adage 'you don't need to be mad to work here, but it helps'. Bitter, twisted, jaded, damaged and just plain vindictive - well they are just some of the nicer things that could be said about most of the staff. It kept me on edge, never knowing which of them to trust and sensing that extra tension, the heightened jeopardy that faced Connie as she searched for the truth. To be honest, I felt more relaxed around the Institution's 'Guests'. At least they never attempted to hide who they really were. Or ... did they? I detested practically every member of staff, was suspicious of the rest, and very conflicted when it came to determining any levels of guilt. The author has knocked it out of the park in terms of creating mistrust and misdirection and I loved it.

Connie is not alone in her investigation and it was lovely to see Brodie Baarda back working alongside her. He has his own challenges in terms of providing support, his ability to engage seriously limited by circumstance and the nature of his undercover disguise. It really worked though, exposing some of the tougher aspects of life on the ward, and creating a huge amount of suspicion as well as serving as a vehicle to direct suspicion towards different individuals are different moments in time. Connie and Brodie make a brilliant team, a real chemistry between them which helped me be even more invested in their fates - and lets just say that the author's ability to be super cruel to her protagonists is in overdrive once again (still not forgiven for One For Sorrow by the way).

The setting of this book is perfect, the isolation adding to the chilling atmosphere and the sense of despair that infuses the ward, along with the anger and capacity for violence that underpins the story. It's tense, exciting, heart thumping action, with scenes that will make skin crawl and steal your breath away, especially when Connie finds herself face to face with the wrath of Dr Roth. Those scenes felt like a violation, building the anger, and therefore the pace and tension, towards a very intense and dramatic finale. it's not all darkness though and there are some lighter and tender moments. Whether that results in a positive outcome for this case remains to be seen. You'll just have to read the book to find that out. Most definitely recommended.

Fantastic read with multiple twists and turns,really well written and kept me awakw as had to read and finish it,loved it

Dr Connie Woolwine is asked to help when a young nurse is murdered and her unborn child is brutally taken from her. The murder took place in a remote top security prison hospital and the police are hoping that as a top Forensic Profiler Connie will be able to find the killer and the new born baby before it’s too late. Feeling the pressure of the clock ticking, Connie and her partner ex-DI Baarda go undercover to get close to some of the most dangerous killers on the planet and those who are tasked with keeping them and the outside world safe.
This is an incredibly tense, psychological thriller, that will have you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath.

I was so thrilled when I was approved for this ARC I had read The Shadow Man which was the previous novel featuring Dr Connie Woolwine and Brodie Baarda and loved it and was hoping so much for a follow up and what a follow up it was, I loved it .
The story is a fast paced on the edge of your seat thriller with Connie and Brodie going undercover at The Institution a high security prison in a inhospitable area where a nurse has been murdered and her unborn baby taken and being held for ransom.
The book is so claustrophobic and you really do get the feeling of remoteness especially when Connie begins to to have flashbacks from her past as the book progresses and the case becomes more involved.
It was a brilliant read so well written and I loved the inclusion of some characters from the wonderful DI Callanach series and I am really hoping for more of Connie and Brodie in the future as well as the Callanach series also.
Many thanks to Helen Sarah Fields for another wonderful read that kept me guessing till the last few pages.
My thanks also to NetGalley and A on Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved The Institution, it completely drew me in and I was engrossed from beginning to end. What happened to the baby taken from its mother's womb during the Caesarian that killed her?

I felt fear and anger on Connie’s behalf, the story really did grip me and I mean it when I say I couldn’t put it down. It is one of the best books I have read.

I was glued to this book, loved it alltogether, great story and great writing, I didn’t want it to end ..

Rating: 2.3/5

Having read the synopsis and seen a number of very positive early reviews, I was looking forward to "The Institution" with a good deal of anticipation. Unfortunately, although it is perfectly readable, I can't say that I found it particularly gripping.

The lead character, Dr Connie Woodwine and her partner, Brodie Baarda first appeared in "Shadow Man", but it is certainly not a requirement to have read that novel prior to reading this one. The scene is set very early in the piece with a dark and brutal crime. In order to get to the bottom of it, Connie and Baarda are sent in, undercover, to The Charles Parry Institution for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane - or what is commonly simply known as "The Institution". Surrounded by convicted serial killers and psychopaths, they have just five days to uncover the truth.

I enjoyed the setting, which had an evocatively Gothic feel about it, particularly in the earlier sections. I also liked the chapters where Connie interviews the various "guests" at "The Institution", which, at times, was reminiscent of Clarice Starling meeting Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs". Sadly, there were too many of the intervening sections that failed to consistently hold my attention. I found the pacing of the novel overall to be too slow. There are unquestionably some action-filled scenes, which are actually quite grisly and graphic and put me in mind of Stuart MacBride's writing style - but in some ways these "in your face" scenes seemed at odds with the attempts at creating a brooding sense of background menace. Nor was I particularly impressed by the characterisation. The main protagonists are generally okay, if not always entirely convincing, but the supporting characters are drawn in a pretty basic, two-dimensional fashion that resulted in simplistic stereotypes.

I am sure there will be further books in this series, but I am somewhat less certain that I will be back to read them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story of Connie Woolwine who is working as an undercover cop in a very high level security prison. It is such an original story of the search for a newborn baby stolen directly from the womb of a murder victim. Connie is in a race against time to find this baby while it is still alive.
I found it an enjoyable and engrossing read. I found that the characters were interesting and the story was engaging with enough plot twists to keep you on the journey until the end. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes a good thriller.

I enjoyed this thriller and think everyone should read it, it was gripping and interesting and the characters were three dimensional

Having read all the DI Callanach books, and The Shadow Man, I was keen to read this new Connie Woolwine novel, and I have to say it gripped me from the get-go! I loved the setting of this book: it creates incredibly bleak and atmospheric scenes; I could sense the sheer desperation radiating staff and inmates alike. I also enjoyed how the book utilised a series of interviews with each of the serial killers incarcerated for life at The Institution - these depraved individuals each have their own bloodthirsty story to tell, and it really is the stuff of nightmares!

All in all, this is an utterly terrifying and addictive read, possibly not one for the faint hearted, but I personally can’t recommend it highly enough.

Gloriously gruesome, spectacularly terrifying and also written in a way that draws you right into the thick of the plot. Time is of the essence in this unputdownable book and trust me when I say that you will lose all element of time whilst you read it!

This is such a good book! Helen Fields has become one of my favorite go-to authors. She always tells a very good story. This book, as are her other books, very atmospheric, with complex and likable characters. Hopefully this is the beginning of a new series.
Highly recommend this book and all of her books!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book and didn’t guess who’d done it.

Overall an enjoyable, fast paced and thrilling read. I found the last 30% excellent, the twists and turns were clever, the flow was great and I was genuinely intrigued. Unfortunately I cannot say as much about the first half of the book, where I found some of the tropes somewhat tired and the writing a little cheesy.

The setting was pretty cool, the characters had interesting backstories and it was hard to figure out what was going on. Not only was it suspenseful reading about a profiler trying to get into the minds of dangerous serial killers, but the storyline of whether her own sanity is at risk was genuinely claustrophobic.

I will say that while a thriller set in a psychiatric prison is bound to be gruesome and disturbing, the foetal abduction storyline was outstandingly upsetting and perhaps should come with a trigger warning. I also didn’t realise that this was the second book around Dr. Woolwine and wished that was made clearer, as I would’ve read the first one prior.